The Denver Nuggets has emerged as one of the best teams in the first half of the 2019-20 NBA regular season campaign.

The youthful squad has managed to hold its own against some of the best teams in the crowded Western Conference, holding the second best-record at 38-17.

But as far as TNT analyst Charles Barkley is concerned, the Mike Malone-mentored group still does not have what it takes to defeat title favorites Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers come playoff time.

The NBA Hall of Famer offered his unfiltered take to Vic Lombardi of Altitude TV. Barkley claimed that there is no scenario in which the Nuggets can beat the Lakers or Clippers in a 7-game series.

“I had high expectations for the Nuggets. They played decent this year. They've been getting off these bad starts. They can't beat the Lakers or the Clippers but they got a good solid team.”

The Nuggets did lose two of their first three meetings against the Lakers. They fared better against the Clippers, beating them in a preseason game and a regular-season game last month.

Barkley, meanwhile, did credit Denver's best player Nikola Jokic for bouncing back after a sluggish start the season. The Joker made it to his second straight All-Star team after all-around averages of 20.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.2 steals.

The Chuckster added that Denver should also look into getting Michael Porter Jr. more involved.

“To me, he is going to be the key. I think he has a fantastic future. Michael Porter Jr. is going to be the key to how far they go”.